| News Items: |
| Headlines |
| News Briefs |
| Stories |
| Movies |
| Word To Life |
| More News: |
| Vatican |
| Africa |
| Archives: |
| John Paul II |
| Tsunami |
| Election 2004 |
| Charter update |
| John Jay study |
| Other Items: |
| Client Area |
| Links |
| Origins |
| Movie Review |
|
The Great Raid By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- The 511 American POWs at the heart of John Dahl's stirring World War II drama, "The Great Raid" (Miramax), were held captive twice -- first by the Japanese and then by Miramax, which inexplicably kept the finished film sitting on a shelf for two years, preventing their story from being told. As far as moviemaking goes, "The Great Raid" falls short of the adjective in its title. But it is a good film, a throwback to the type of unabashedly patriotic movies churned out by Hollywood studios during the 1940s. Set in the Japanese-occupied Philippines over five days in 1945, "The Great Raid" tells the real-life story of the daring mission by a vastly outnumbered joint team of American and Filipino forces (led by Benjamin Bratt and James Franco) to rescue 511 American GIs -- all of whom had survived the infamous Bataan death march -- interned in the notorious Cabanatuan prison camp. Dahl is no David Lean and the film is no "Bridge Over the River Kwai." (But then again Bratt isn't exactly this generation's John Wayne.) Apart from Joseph Fiennes, who plays the (fictional) ranking officer among the prisoners, none of the characters are fleshed out, curbing viewers' emotional investment. Also, a romantic subplot involving a widowed nurse (Connie Neilsen) never really pays dramatic dividends and some may feel that the brutal Japanese prison guards are stereotypes. But these are just nitpicking trifles in what is otherwise a highly watchable tale of tremendous heroism and sacrifice. The film contains intense wartime violence, including torture, executions and scenes of burning bodies, some vulgar language, profanity and ethnic slurs. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
| FIND A MOVIE |
|
Looking for a movie review? |